German rescue boat stuck in Mediterranean with 800 migrants
MILAN (AP) — A humanitarian rescue boat stuck in the Mediterranean Sea carrying 800 migrants has received a delivery of food and blankets while it awaits permission to come to shore. The German rescue boat Sea-Eye 4 set a course for the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Thursday after picking up 400 migrants from a sinking wooden boat, doubling the number of people on board. Even though they were just hours away from Italy’s southernmost island, officials at the charity Sea-Eye said Italy has not yet assigned their ship a safe port. They also say that Malta shirked its responsibility by not responding to the wooden boat’s distress signal, which was in Malta’s search and rescue area. Doctors say several people on board are showing signs of torture.